Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for La Porte can be reffered to in order to determine when it's a good idea to plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

Frost tolerance for melampodium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You should not plant melampodium until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in La Porte is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant melampodium and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your melampodium may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your melampodium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in La Porte. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for La Porte and it is different every year. Since half of the time in La Porte it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your melampodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Porte

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in La Porte

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Porte.